Dreh-dich-um-Kuchen (upside-down apple cake)
A caramel and apple layer built first in the base of the tin, then flooded with a plain batter and baked, so the finished cake turns out with a glossy, caramelised fruit top instead of the plain crumb of a normal apple cake. The name means turn-yourself-around cake, for the flip at the end.
Christoph's upside-down apple cake, the caramel built first in the tin so the flip at the end reveals it rather than hiding it under the crumb.
Ingredients
Written for a 24 cm round tin
Units
Temperature
Servings
Caramel and apples
- 60 g butter rounded
- 100 g sugar rounded
- 500 g apples, peeled, cored, sliced into wedges rounded
Batter
- 3 eggs rounded
- 130 g sugar rounded
- 100 ml neutral oil rounded
- 100 ml milk rounded
- 5 ml vanilla extract rounded
- 220 g flour rounded
- 8 g baking powder rounded
- 1 g fine salt rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Melt the butter in a 24 cm round tin over low heat on the stovetop, if the tin is stovetop-safe, or melt separately and pour it in. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the butter and cook, without stirring, until it turns a deep amber, watching closely near the end since it goes from amber to burnt quickly.
- Take off the heat and arrange the apple wedges in a tight, even pattern over the caramel. Let cool for 10 minutes while you make the batter.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale, then whisk in the oil, milk and vanilla.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together separately, then fold into the wet mixture just until combined.
- Pour the batter evenly over the apples, covering them completely.
- Bake at 175°C for 40 to 45 minutes, until a skewer inserted away from the fruit comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin for 10 minutes only, then run a knife around the edge, place a plate over the top, and invert in one confident motion. Lift the tin away; if any apple sticks, lift it out and press it back into place.
Notes
- Do not let the caramel go past deep amber. It continues to darken from residual heat even off the stove, and a caramel that looks perfect in the pan can taste bitter once baked and flipped.
- Ten minutes of cooling is the sweet spot for flipping. Too hot, and the structure has not set enough to hold together; too long, and the caramel starts to set hard and stick to the tin.
- Invert in one decisive motion rather than hesitating. A slow, tentative flip is more likely to let the cake slip sideways than a quick, confident one.
- It is best the day it is made, while the caramel top is still glossy; it keeps for 2 days at room temperature but the caramel softens and dulls.
Ingredient substitutions
- Apples can be pears, or firm plums halved instead of wedged, all giving good results with the same caramel base.
- A stovetop-safe cake tin makes step 1 much simpler; without one, melt the butter and sugar together gently in a small pan and pour into the (cold) tin before arranging the fruit.
- A pinch of cinnamon whisked into the batter is a common, welcome addition.
- For a nuttier version, scatter 30 g of chopped walnuts over the caramel before the apples go on.
From Christoph Mayer